This Apple Fritter Cake brings together the perfect blend of tart apples, warm cinnamon, and a sweet vanilla icing drizzle. Each bite is like indulging in a freshly fried apple fritter, but in cake form, making it a delightful treat for any occasion. Serve it warm to enhance the rich flavors and cozy textures. Ideal for fall gatherings, this cake fills your home with the comforting aroma of apples and cinnamon. The simple yet decadent vanilla icing takes it to the next level, making it a crowd-pleasing dessert that pairs beautifully with a hot cup of coffee or cider.
Full Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 tart apples, peeled, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup brown sugar (divided)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (divided)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a saucepan, brown the butter over medium-low heat, stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
- Toss apples with lemon juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- To the cooled butter, add white sugar, the remaining brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.
- Whisk in eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and apple cider. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and stir until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the apples and juices.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Whisk powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream until smooth. Pour icing over the warm cake.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Kcal: 340 kcal per serving
Servings: 12 servings
A Delectable Treat: Apple Fritter Cake
If you love the classic taste of apple fritters, you’re going to fall in love with this Apple Fritter Cake. Combining the best elements of apple fritters into a warm, cozy cake, this dessert offers the perfect balance of tart apples, cinnamon spice, and a sweet vanilla glaze. It’s like biting into a classic apple fritter, but in cake form — a treat that’s sure to please the whole family. Whether you’re preparing for a fall gathering or simply looking to enjoy a comforting homemade dessert, this cake is an excellent choice.
Origins of Apple Fritters
Before diving into the intricacies of the Apple Fritter Cake, let’s take a quick look at the origins of apple fritters. Apple fritters have been around for centuries, with their roots in European cuisine, particularly in England and France. Traditionally, an apple fritter is a deep-fried pastry, filled with spiced apples and often topped with powdered sugar or a glaze. They are a staple of fall and winter treats, with the tartness of the apples perfectly complementing the warmth of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
However, in this recipe, the deep frying is traded for baking, giving you a healthier and simpler way to enjoy the flavors of a traditional apple fritter. This cake is a twist on the beloved classic, turning it into a comforting dessert that’s easy to make and serve. Baking the fritter ingredients into a cake keeps all the flavors intact, but eliminates the hassle and mess of frying.
Key Ingredients and Flavor Profile
One of the things that make this Apple Fritter Cake stand out is the use of high-quality ingredients. While the recipe may seem straightforward, it’s the combination of fresh apples, warm spices, and a buttery batter that creates a cake rich in flavor and texture.
Apples
The star of the dish is, of course, the apples. When choosing apples for this recipe, it’s best to go for tart varieties like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. These types of apples maintain their shape and flavor when baked, offering a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cake. Their tartness balances the sugar in the recipe, preventing the cake from becoming overwhelmingly sweet. The apples are tossed in cinnamon and sugar before being layered over the batter, infusing the cake with that quintessential apple-cinnamon flavor in every bite.
Brown Butter
The recipe begins with browning butter, a step that adds a deep, nutty flavor to the cake. Brown butter is simply butter that’s been cooked until the milk solids turn golden brown, releasing a rich, toasted aroma. This adds complexity to the cake’s overall flavor and makes the batter even more decadent. Though it takes just a few extra minutes to prepare, brown butter makes a noticeable difference, lending the cake a more sophisticated, caramel-like taste.
Spices
No apple dessert would be complete without spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. These two spices pair beautifully with the apples, adding warmth and depth to the cake. Cinnamon, in particular, is the dominant spice, used both in the apple mixture and the batter. Nutmeg, with its slightly sweet, nutty notes, rounds out the flavor and complements the tartness of the apples. Together, they give the cake its cozy, autumnal character.
Vanilla Icing
To finish the cake, a simple vanilla icing is poured over the top while the cake is still warm. This icing, made with powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream, creates a smooth, sweet layer that glazes the top of the cake. The icing seeps into the cake slightly, adding a burst of sweetness to each bite without overpowering the delicate apple flavor. The key to a perfect icing is achieving the right consistency; it should be pourable but not too runny, coating the cake evenly and setting to a soft, glossy finish.
The Baking Process
This Apple Fritter Cake comes together with relative ease. Here’s a breakdown of the essential steps that go into making this delightful dessert:
- Browning the Butter: Browning the butter in the first step gives the cake a rich, nutty flavor that enhances the overall taste. Be careful not to burn the butter; it should be golden brown with a slightly toasted smell. After browning, let it cool for 15 minutes before combining it with the other ingredients.
- Prepping the Apples: While the butter cools, the apples are peeled, chopped, and tossed with lemon juice, cinnamon, and brown sugar. This step allows the apples to start releasing their juices, which will be poured over the top of the cake along with the apples.
- Making the Batter: The batter is made by whisking the cooled brown butter with sugars, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and apple cider. The sour cream adds moisture to the cake, while the apple cider intensifies the apple flavor. Flour, baking powder, and baking soda are then stirred in to create a smooth, rich batter.
- Assembling the Cake: Once the batter is poured into a greased baking dish, the spiced apples are spread evenly over the top, along with their juices. This ensures that every bite of cake has a bit of that apple-cinnamon goodness.
- Baking: The cake bakes for about 55 to 65 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with just a few moist crumbs attached. The cake should be golden brown on top and around the edges, with the apples slightly caramelized.
- Adding the Icing: After the cake cools for 15-20 minutes, the icing is poured over the top. The warm cake helps the icing to spread and soak in slightly, creating a sweet, glossy finish.
Serving Suggestions
This Apple Fritter Cake is best served warm, allowing the flavors to meld together and the icing to remain soft and sticky. You can pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream for an extra indulgent treat. It’s also delicious with a cup of hot coffee or apple cider, making it the perfect dessert for a cozy fall afternoon.
This cake is incredibly versatile and can be served as dessert, but it’s also a great option for a special breakfast or brunch. The sweetness is balanced by the tart apples, making it a treat that isn’t too heavy or rich to enjoy in the morning.
Customizations and Variations
While this recipe is already packed with flavor, there are several ways you can tweak it to suit your personal preferences:
- Add Nuts: For extra texture and flavor, you can fold chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter or sprinkle them over the apples before baking.
- Spice Variations: If you want to switch up the spices, consider adding a pinch of ground cloves or allspice for a different flavor profile. These spices pair beautifully with apples and will add a bit of extra warmth to the cake.
- Caramel Drizzle: For an even more decadent dessert, drizzle caramel sauce over the top of the cake along with or instead of the vanilla icing.
Conclusion:
Apple Fritter Cake is the ultimate dessert for apple lovers and anyone who enjoys a good cozy, autumnal treat. The combination of tart apples, cinnamon, and sweet vanilla icing is simply irresistible. Easy to make and always a hit, this cake is sure to become a go-to recipe in your kitchen. Whether you’re serving it for a special occasion or just as a simple dessert, it’s a recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
